Bolanle Akanji
Moderator
An estimated 18 people have died while 32 others have been rescued after a boat capsized off the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean on Wednesday, the government said in a Facebook statement.
According to the statement, the sailboat was thought to be carrying suspected illegal immigrants and was intercepted by the Marine Branch of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.
While the boat was being towed to a dock to unload the suspects, it capsized.
Police are still searching “for the handful of people who reached shore and fled the scene,” the government said.
The Marine Branch’s search for additional bodies in the water is being assisted by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, according to the statement.
According to the statement, the sailboat was thought to be carrying suspected illegal immigrants and was intercepted by the Marine Branch of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.
While the boat was being towed to a dock to unload the suspects, it capsized.
Police are still searching “for the handful of people who reached shore and fled the scene,” the government said.
The Marine Branch’s search for additional bodies in the water is being assisted by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, according to the statement.